I’ve never done a full “Trip Report” before Generally I’ve pieced together a review here or there, but never have actually taken the time to sit down and review each and every aspect of a trip. This is going to be a first for me and hopefully it goes well. With that, my first trip report is going to describe my recent trip to Paris, France. The trip was fantastic and was a showcase into the real value of miles & points. Also it was a chance to spend a week in the “City of Love” with someone I love which made the trip that much more stressful enjoyable.
Booking – Flights
A lot of time went into booking this trip. I knew the dates I wanted to travel and knew I’d be traveling OneWorld to get to Paris, but was unsure how I was going to actually get to Paris. Late in 2016 American Airlines published some incredible round-trip fares to Europe. I capitalized and purchased 2 round-trip fares for approximately $350 each. The only way to get the deeply discounted price was to stop once in either direction. After playing with the routings I decided it was best to fly from ORD-DFW-CDG on the way out and CDG-ORD non-stop on the way home. I chose the DFW-CDG routing because it currently features American’s new 789 aircraft which is the first to offer Premium Economy. Also by flying CDG-ORD non-stop on the way home we’d get to enjoy a 2-4-2 seating arrangement on American’s 767.
Booking – Hotels
Once I had the flights booked it was time to pick a hotel. I had never been to Paris and was unsure where to stay. There were so many options to choose from it was overwhelming. I decided to stick to the Marriott/SPG brands for convenience even though I knew we’d end up paying a bit more in the end. Finally a few weeks before we left on our trip I decided on Le Metropolitan Hotel in Paris. The hotel is a “Tribute Portfolio” SPG property and is located just blocks from the Eiffel Tower. The major factor in deciding the hotel was the price. I paid a pre-paid rate of €213.00 and booked through the Citi Prestige Concierge. Since I booked with my Citi Prestige card I received the 4th night free which significantly reduced the nightly rate.
Further Logistics
Prior to actually leaving for Paris this was the only thought we had put into the trip. In fact, when we actually departed for the airport we still had 2 unbooked nights and no idea how we’d spend them. We first talked about visiting Belgium or London, but the entire process of moving our stuff seemed overwhelming when in Paris. Luckily we were able to extend our stay at Le Metropolitan hotel using SPG/Marriott points. This allowed us to take a day trip to Versailles which ended up being one of the best parts of the trip!
Final Thoughts
Prior to leaving for our trip this is literally of of the effort we put into the trip. We had no dinner reservations, no planned activities, and no idea how we’d fill out days. The lack of structure with our trip ended up being the best plan as many activities took longer than expected while others were impossible due to a workers strike.
This should give you a rough estimate as to what to expect when planning a trip to Paris. My advice is to plan out how to get there and where to stay, but take each day as it comes when in Paris.
